Exquisite Exuma

From our waterfront balcony at Peace & Plenty we look out at Stocking Island across Elizabeth Harbor and a few of the water-sports options in Exuma. That's the Emerald Lady on the right, but click on this image to see a Bahamian sloop fighting for position in a recent regatta. Click on the photo above to see it full size.

Conchburgers in paradise with Johnny Depp

From GEORGETOWN by Walter & Patricia Brooks

We came back. It's been a quarter-century love affair between us and this undiscovered paradise in the Bahamas.

Everyone knows about Nassau, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and the rest of the archipelago 250 miles out in the Atlantic (not the Caribbean) east of Miami. But thankfully few of you have ever heard of this unspoiled little island where we escape to every New Year's for a week.

If you are not prepared to do nothing for a few days, forget about Exuma. We come here to sit in the sun, read a bunch of books and eat Dora's Conchburgers on Stocking Island overlooking Georgetown across Elisabeth Harbor. Be sure to bring plenty to read, although the very friendly library will give you their overflow if you get stuck. It's only open, however, two hours a day.

Delightful Dora has been flipping conchbugres at the P&P shack on Stocking Island For over thirty years.

This is a conchburger,

This is a typical Bahamian sloop during a race.

Click this image to see the finish line larger.

What we do on Stocking Island.

We rented a boat and found our own perfect, private beach. Exuma has a thousand of them. This one is on Crab Cay in Elizabeth Harbor.

And if you love Johnny Depp like we do, you'll be happy to see these barges in Little Exuma loading up the sets and materials for the filming by Depp of "Pirates of The Caribbean 2 and 3" being filmed on Sandy Cay he films on twelve miles offshore.

The south end offers countless photo ops like a clothesline shot throughan abandomed building. Click the image to see it in all it's charm.

Stop for lunch at Santana's in Williams Town at the southern tip where the Snapper costs $10.

Our home-away-from-home in The Bahamas is called Peace & Plenty in the very middle of the island's tiny seaport Georgetown. The inn has just undergone extensive remodeling and it shines in the splendor of its original beauty and island charm. Despite this colonial charm, the poolside rooms fetch from $135 in summer and from $170 in season.

O.K. There is some stuff to do

I think I was just trying to scare you away from my secret escape place, but if you are into fishing, especially bone-fishing, sailing, snorkeling, kayaking, power boating and anything else associated with saltwater, you don't have to bring a lot of books.

One of our favorites is Raymond Sears at Exuma Glassbottom Boats. And across from the island's most famous hotel, Peace & Plenty, is Minn's Boat Rental. A hundred yards down the street you'll find Starfish Adventures which has most of the rest.

There's always Four Seasons

And if you tired of the relaxed elegance of the P&P which will remind you of a British colonial resort of the 19th century, you can drive 14 miles north to the new Four Seasons Resort and pay $495 and up per night.

And in the opulent overpriced cocoon at Four Seasons you won't even know you're out of the U.S.  Lots of Americans get off a plane at the Exuma International Airport, take a limo 8 miles to Four Seasons, and never know they've left the U.S.

They should save the air fare and drive to Marco Island or some other American enclosed enclave for the rich.

Don't get us wrong - we love Four Seasons and have written about it glowingly about their incredible service and attention to detail as Boston's only five star hotel, but why travel to an unspoiled island and never see the people or the culture?

What some say about Exuma

We travel to see the world, not more of America. Exuma is slow, laid-back, indifferent to your needs, independent as hell and friendly if you are.

To us it's a Garden of Eden before the serpent.

 "I haven't been to the Exumas in years," says one Chicagoan with relatives on Great Exuma. "Lord, I'd forgotten how glorious it is." 

Says Vernice Walkine, director-general of the Ministry of Tourism, "It's important to us to encourage investment that would provide the greatest number of jobs possible. Employment is No. 1.  It's about spreading the wealth around. When a lot of people think about the Bahamas, they assume we're talking about Nassau and Paradise Island. Other destinations were losing out."

Last month the Bahama Gaming Board approved a license for new casinos including one for the Four Seasons Resort on Exuma. A company called PNK Exuma will invest $5 million into the operating a casino at that Emerald Bay resort.

New Coral Reef off Stocking Island

A new coral reef is growing a Little way north of the P&P hamburger/conch burger shack on Stocking Island on the ocean side. As the Bahama Journal reported this week,

"Coral in marine reserves in Exuma Land and Sea Park, a protected area, is flourishing, the new study which is to be published in the international Science journal has found

The study is good news for the Bahamas National Trust, which has been promoting the benefits of no-fishing zones for decades."

The Exuma Land and Sea Park is one of the oldest protected marine areas in the Caribbean and was established in 1959. It's been a no-fishing zone for 20 years. This 112,640-acre park was the first of its kind in the world and is famous for its pristine beauty.

What to do in Exuma:

Here's our favorites island t'ings to do.

• Walk around Lake Victoria in the middle of Georgetown before it gets hot around 8am.
• Follow the signs reading "P 2/3" to the staging area for the filming of "Pirates of The Caribbean 2" down in Forbes Hill on Little Exuma just past The Ferry.
• Stroll past the Government House in G-town on Wednesday to see the supply ships at the town dock.
• Rent a car from Airport Car Rentals and drive to Rolleville and Barre Terre at the north end of this tropical paradise. On another day drive to the southern end to see The Ferry, Rolle Town ending at Williams Town where a new Ritz Resort is rumored to be built.
• Take the boat to Stocking Island for sun, a walk on the oceanside, snorkeling in the new coral reef and eating Dora's Conchburgers at either 10am or noon. It's free to P&P guests and $10 for everyone else.
• The Saturday night dance at P&P or Two Turtles which starts at 9pm. Go crazy.

Where to eat in Exuma;

Here are our favorites.

• Peace & Plenty. The new manager, Neville LeeChoy, has an extensive background in restaurants, and he's revolutionized the menu. Would you believe Sweet & Sour Chicken and Baby back Spare Ribs in the Caribbean?
• Two Turtles (on right) across from P&P. The Friday night Bar-b-Que features Ribs with peas & rice, slaw and Mac 'n Cheese for $12 plus great Lemon Meringue pie for $4.

These are north of Georgetown.

• Peace & Plenty Beach Club, a two mile, free jitney ride north of Georgetown.
• Coconut Cove next to the beach club. Would you believe a great Greek Salad and decent pizza?
•  Palm Bay, next to Coconut Cove. Try the Grouper Finger with peas & rice.
• Castaways in Moss Town just south of the airport. The Fried Snapper is spiced perfectly and comes with Peas 'n Rice, Slaw, Beets and Potato Salad for $12.
• The Grill at and outdoor dining Four Seasons. Pricey, but nice.

Our favorites restaurants south of Georgetown.

• Cheater's, great Cracked Conch and Fried Chicken. 2 miles south of town.
• Peace & Plenty Bonefish Lodge just before The Ferry and Little Exuma.
• Santana's Grill Pit (on right) for lunch in Williams Town at the southern tip where a Ritz Resort is rumored to be built.